


An Empty Bottle Takes the Rain

by littleredchurro



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 15:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3213452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleredchurro/pseuds/littleredchurro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living." - Marcus Tullius Cicero</p><p>Deals with Obi-Wan's faked death in The Clone Wars</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Empty Bottle Takes the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a conversation I saw between two people on tumblr. 
> 
> Music used: Heal - Tom Odell

                Death is a funny thing. You’re never really sure if it’s the _person_ you miss or the time you had with them, time you’ll never have again. Then you wonder if it’s all really the same thing. Isn’t knowing a person, really knowing them, just knowing what they mean to you? An acquaintance you met, perhaps, once, passes on and you may regretfully acknowledge the passing of life, but there’s certainly no grieving involved. You didn’t know them, not really, you had no memories and no future. There was no meaning there.

                But Obi-Wan Kenobi. No, he was no mere acquaintance. The grief there was palpable and consuming. There was a past that was now merely a memory and a future, however scarcely populated by him, that was no longer possible. She’d made the trek to Coruscant to attend the funeral of the man she loved, no matter how little she’d told him that. No amount of tears she shed now could let him know. The blur in front of her eyes made it impossible to see the flash incineration he received, and she felt almost grateful for that. For the galaxy, it was the end of an era. For Satine Kryze, it was the sudden cold stop of a heart she wasn't sure she’d be able to get to beat again.

 

                Obi-Wan, for his part, hadn’t factored in the possibility of Satine being at his funeral. He hadn’t much factored in her knowing at all, really… The grief he knew Anakin and Ahsoka would feel were temporary and unfortunate necessities, but _Satine_ … He couldn’t turn back now, of course. The mission must be completed, but still, the Jedi’s heart fell to his stomach as he watched her leave his “funeral.” He supposed part of him never expected her to find out. The other part, perhaps… hadn’t expected her to come even if she did.

                Through the mission, Obi-Wan forced himself to let go of the sharp sting he’d felt on that night. He couldn’t and _wouldn’t_ let himself dwell on the betrayal he’d committed. It was necessary, he reminded himself. It was the only way to properly protect the Chancellor and it was a duty he was bound to serve. He knew if Satine was aware of the circumstances, she would understand. These were the thoughts he comforted himself with, the thoughts he used to let Satine sink into the back of his consciousness as he performed his duty.

 

                The trip returning to Mandalore felt cold and empty. Even the stars seemed to forget to burn. Her hair was far more unkempt than was proper for her title, but she couldn’t bring herself to fix it. She had time yet before they landed, and right now she couldn’t quite find herself to be bothered with it. She’d accepted the kind hug from Padmé and noted the menacing look in Anakin’s eye as he promised to find who had done this. _Obi-Wan wouldn’t approve_ , she had caught herself thinking before it could be stopped.  It would happen like that a lot, she figured. A quick fleeting thought of him that had the power to bring her to her knees. Not that she ever would, of course. He certainly wouldn’t approve of that either. But it had the _power_ to, and that was enough. That was grief in its simplest form: power to bring you to your knees at the mere reminder that they no longer exist. For the innumerable time that night, Satine found her eyes wet with tears once more, the streaks on her cheeks perhaps attempting to mimic the stars that streaked so lifelessly by out of the viewport.

 

                An acceptance was necessary for Obi-Wan after he’d come out of his self-imposed death. When he’d agreed to this mission, the repercussions of his decision hadn’t seemed to be fully weighed. Not out of refusal to see it but, apparently, out of plain ignorance of those around him. A simple blindness to the threads that so heavily connected him to the hearts of those he cared for and, clearly, cared so deeply for him. It was acceptance that he apparently meant more to those around him than he had previously counted on… And an acceptance that he owed his fair share of apologies…

                Anakin and Ahsoka’s forgiveness had been no doubt difficult to come by, but Obi-Wan knew he would gain it back as sure as the twin suns rise and fall on Tatooine. It was another forgiveness, a far more necessary one, he knew he needed to ask for, one he was sure would not be entirely sanctioned by the Council… He was rarely one to defy the wishes of his peer members, but this was more than a necessity. It was owed.

                Soft steps fell on exquisitely marbled floors, measured steady steps that carried him to the throne room belying the not so steady demeanor of the person they belonged to. When he arrived on the edge of the room, he found her standing, back to him.

                “Satine…” His voice, also unlike his steps, was not steady either.

                Her eyes closed and a breath fell from her lips.

                “Obi-Wan.”

 

 

                This is the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi. It does not happen on the rooftops of Coruscant. Duchess Satine Kryze does not attend his funeral. Anakin Skywalker does not vow vengeance. It is lonely and it is silent and despite the hot red planet it occurs on, it is cold. A man walks away from this death, as a man walked away from the other one, but that man is no longer Obi-Wan. He died around the same time Anakin Skywalker did.


End file.
